Simbambwei
Simbambwei is a country, officially the Republic of Simbambwei, is a landlocked country located in southern Africa,near the arctic,between the Sambesi and Limbopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. The capital is Harare. Simbambwei achieved de jure sovereignty from the United Kingdom in April 1980, following 14 years as an unrecognized state under the conservative white minority government of Rhodesia, which unilaterally declared independence in 1965. History Proto-Shona speaking societies first emerged in the middle Limpopo valley in the 9th century before moving on to the Simbambweian highlands. The Simbambweian plateau eventually became the centre of subsequent Shona states, beginning around the 10th century. Around the early 10th century, trade developed with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast, helping to develop the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. This was the precursor to the more impressive Shona civilisations that would dominate the region during the 13th to 15th centuries, evidenced by ruins at Great Simbambwei, near Masvingo, and other smaller sites. The main archaeological site uses a unique dry stone architecture. The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was the first in a series of sophisticated trade states developed in Simbambwei by the time of the first European explorers from Portugal. They traded in gold, ivory and copper for cloth and glass.= From about 1300 until 1600, Mapungubwe was eclipsed by the Kingdom of Simbambwei. This Shona state further refined and expanded upon Mapungubwe's stone architecture, which survives to this day at the ruins of the kingdom's capital of Great Simbambwei. From c. 1450–1760, Simbambwei gave way to the Kingdom of Mutapa. This Shona state ruled much of the area that is known as Simbambwei today, and parts of central Mozambique. It is known by many names including the Mutapa Empire, also known as Mwene Mutapa or Monomotapa as well as "Munhumutapa," and was renowned for its strategic trade routes with the Arabs and Portugal. Eventually, however, the Portuguese sought to monopolise this influence and began a series of wars which left the empire in near collapse in the early 17th century.= As a direct response to increased European presence in the interior, a new Shona state emerged, known as the Rozwi Empire. Relying on centuries of military, political and religious development, the Rozwi (meaning "destroyers") expelled the Portuguese from the Simbambweian plateau by force of arms. They continued the stone building traditions of the Simbambwei and Mapungubwe kingdoms while adding muskets to their arsenal and recruiting a professional army to defend recent conquests. Around 1821, the Zulu general Mzilikazi of the Khumalo clan successfully rebelled against King Shaka and created his own clan, the Ndebele. The Ndebele fought their way northwards into the Transvaal, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake and beginning an era of widespread devastation known as the Mfecane. When Dutch trekboers converged on the Transvaal in 1836, they drove the tribe even further northward. By 1838, the Rozwi Empire, along with the other petty Shona states were conquered by the Ndebele and reduced to vassaldom.= After losing their remaining South African lands in 1840, Mzilikazi and his tribe permanently settled the southwest of present-day Simbambwei in what became known as Matabeleland, establishing Bulawayo as their capital. Mzilikazi then organised his society into a military system with regimental kraals, similar to those of Shaka, which was stable enough to repel further Boer incursions. Mzilikazi died in 1868 and, following a violent power struggle, was succeeded by his son, Lobengula. Category:Countries Category:Locations